In the development of a residential housing project or a commercial building project, storm water culvert pipes are frequently installed, and erosion control means are temporarily installed to impede storm water from carrying silt and other sediment into a storm water culvert pipe. Sediment may include silt dirt, sand, rocks, sticks and other debris which is both difficult to remove from the pipe and has the potential of polluting downstream waters.
One form of culvert inlet protection is formed by constructing a U-shape or annular silt fence upstream and around the pipe inlet, for example, as disclosed in the specification sheets of the North Carolina Sediment Control Commission. Another form of culvert inlet protection is disclosed in an Urban Manual of the state of Illinois and identified as Code 808. In this form, a gravel or stone berm in a horseshoe or arcuate shape is constructed upstream and around the inlet of the storm water pipe, and the berm is tied to the culvert embankment at a predetermined spacing from the culvert pipe inlet. Other forms or devices for culvert pipe inlet protection are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,555,841, U.S. Pat. No. 3,086,655, U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,239, U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,179 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,682,104. However, these inlet protection devices are primarily used for preventing large debris and animals from entering the storm water culvert pipe.
With any device or system for preventing the flow of sediment into a culvert inlet of a storm water pipe, it is desirable for the device or system to be easily and quickly installed and removed, be relatively compact and durable, be secure with respect to the pipe inlet, be removed with little restoration of the soil or surface upstream of the inlet, and be reusable. It is apparent that none of the devices or systems referred to above for protecting a storm water culvert pipe from filling with silt or other sediment provides all of these advantages.